Before diving right into SEO, your priority should be to create a functional environment that poses the foundation of all your subsequent SEO efforts. Your general setup is the base for all further activities and having the right tools in place is critical for your SEO success. So make sure you are prepared in the best possible way! Here are some suggestions:
Set up a Google Analytics Account
Setting up Google Analytics is the first thing we recommend you do after publishing your website. At the core, it allows you to track your website traffic, meaning you know who actually visits your website! The tool does not only show you the number of people and their activities on your website – but among others it also allows you to see your geographic reach, the source (such as organic traffic, social media, direct search, etc.) as well as the amount of time they spend on your page. It hence includes many great insights to see how your website is performing and is a great start to optimize your online presence.
The way you set up Google Analytics in WordPress is by dropping the GA code inside the head of the site. Usually you do this via a WordPress plugin or Google TAG Manager.
Install Google Tag Manager on your WordPress Website
Install Google Tag Manager to a Shopify Store
Check & Set Up Google Analytics using a WordPress Plug In
Check & Set Up Google Analytics to your Shopify Store
Check & Set Up Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager
Setting up Google Search Console (GSC)
After you publish your website and set up Google Analytics, it’s now time to think about how people can actually find your website. While your website is accessible after publication it is important to know that it is NOT automatically showing up in Google’s search yet! To tell Google about your website (so that Google can index it), you will need to submit your so-called sitemap to the search engine. This is what you will need the Google Search Console for initially. However, it is way more than just that: It serves as a reporting tool, covering several SEO metrics and enabling you to maximize the visibility of your website and improve search rankings. It also covers parameters such as website speed or mobile performance.
Setting up Bing Webmaster Tools
How to Connect and add Google Search Console data to Google Analytics
Integrate a SEO solution into your webpage
Some website providers such as WordPress or Wix already include an SEO Suite, covering several SEO functionalities. On top of that, you can complement the existing content management system with SEO plugins. These plugins have the goal to give you full control over your page while they allow for a rather easy-to-use interface. The two most popular plugins for WordPress for example are Yoast SEO and RankMath. We will go into more detail about different SEO solutions.
Install Yoast SEO plug-in on your WordPress website
Setting up Uptime Monitoring (and minimize downtime)
Improve TrustRank adding Trust Pages: About us, Contact, Privacy Policy and TOS
This is an easy but often neglected tip. Make sure you have what I like to call “trust pages” on your website. This includes pages such as “About”, “Contact”, “Privacy Policy” and “Terms of Service (TOS)” pages.
Why are these pages so important? When it comes to determining the “ranking worthiness” of a webpage, Google (among many other parameters!) measures a site from a trusted perspective. If these are missing the website quickly is declared as “shady” or not “trustworthy” by Google. Hence, every legit business should have these pages – and so should you!
Improve TrustRank with Public WHOIS and Domain Registration Length
How to configure HTTPS and get a Free SSL for your AWS website using Cloudflare
How to configure HTTPS and get a Free SSL for your GCP website using Cloudflare
Set Up Keyword Rank Tracking for your website
You can’t manage what you can’t measure! It is impossible to improve something if you don’t know what you are dealing with in the first place.
Hence, continuous monitoring is essential for long-term SEO success. “Quick fixes” here and there are not enough to strengthen (and keep!) a good ranking in Google. You will need to follow a strategy, e.g. by giving each site a specific set of keywords that you keep track of overtime.
There are several tools out there that can help to keep track of your keyword rankings:
- SERProbot
- What’s my SERP
- SERPwatcher
- Ahrefs
- SeRaniking
- AdvancedWebRanking
- And obviously SEO Buddy